Peer Review

Summary

This project will provide a reliable source of clean water to over 4,000 students and teachers at Kampong Tralach Secondary School, Hun Sen Kampong Tralach High School and Salalek 5 Primary School.

Background

In Cambodia, the lack of access to safe drinking water poses a serious threat to the lives of millions. Civil war has left water distribution systems damaged, while a rapidly growing population and the increasing impact of climate change are exacerbating the water shortage crisis. People living in remote areas generally have less access to clean water than those living in urban areas, and in some of these regions the situation is dire.

Roughly 40 percent of secondary schools in Cambodia have no proper drinking water facilities, and the vast majority of schools in remote areas have no access to water fit for consumption. The government cannot afford to build water systems for the schools. Because access to safe water at school has been shown to have a positive impact on academic performance, as well as contributing to the establishment of good hygiene and sanitation practices, increased investment in these essential facilities yields multiple dividends.

The Hun Sen Kampong Tralach High School and Kampong Tralach Secondary Schools were built by the government in 1999, and accommodate up to 3220 students and 74 teachers. The Salalek 5 Primary School was built by the government in 1979 with further additions in 1998 and accommodates 817 students and 22 teachers. Located in Kompang Chnnang, one of the country’s poorest provinces, these schools have no source of safe drinking water for students.

The goal of the EMW project is to set up a solar-powered UV (ultraviolet) system to provide clean water to the school, in order to decrease the incidence of water-borne diseases among the students.

The proposed project will implement the type of UV water systems that have already improved the lives of thousands of students in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Attachments

Focus

People Getting Safe Drinking Water:
4,059

1,728 females and 2,331 males in 3 schools with 3,963 students and 96 teachers

School Children Getting Water:
3,963

3 schools with 1,695 females and 2,268 males

People Getting Sanitation:
0

People Getting Other Benefits:
4,059

Hygiene education - as with all of EMWs school water projects there will be a series of awareness activities in the school to help the beneficiaries understand how to access and sustain the full benefits of clean water and sanitation.

Application Type: Project Funding

Start Date: 2011-08-31

Completion Date: 2011-10-31

Technology Used:

This Clean Water and Sanitation project will be the second one implemented in Cambodia by EMW, which completed a similar project at a nearby school in 2010. EMW has an outstanding track record in the clean water sector with more than 120 water systems successfully implemented in Vietnam. The goal of the project is to provide access to sanitary drinking water at the two schools.

The most sustainable and cost effective solution is to install a water filtration system at the location of the existing secondary school reserve tank, making it easy to feed the filtered water into the school’s existing pipe network. A water tower will be constructed near the existing reserve tank, and a new 5000-liter plastic water tank will be mounted on top. A small water pump will be installed to pump the water to this overhead storage tank.

Because the school’s power supply is unreliable, a solar panel will be installed to generate the electricity needed to operate the water pump. Water from the overhead storage tank will then gravity feed through three filters (undersite, carbon, regime) and the UV filter and into a new 1000 liter water distribution tank to be mounted on the existing concrete reserve water tank.

The UV light source used to disinfect the school’s water will be enclosed in a transparent protective sleeve. As the water passes through a flow chamber, it absorbs the UV rays. The UV light system disinfects the water without chemicals and with no change to the taste or odor of the water.

This system will provide the school with a reliable supply of clean water and increase the pressure at which the water is delivered. New pipes will then be laid to connect the water system to the primary school, which are only 500m away.

Phases:

One phase (see attached implementation timeline for more details)

Community Organization:

After initial discussions with community members, local authorities, students and teachers at the schools, all are now fully supportive of this water project, and will be involved throughout the process. The Water Steering Committee (WSC), consisting of teachers and school administrators, will be trained by the Provincial Rural Development (PRDD) officer in the installation, operation and maintenance of the school water filtration unit.

Government Interaction:

This project is not directly connected with a governmental program, but is in full cooperation with the Provincial Rural Development Department, and supported by local district authorities and the Provincial Department of Education and Sports.

Ancillary activities:

Teachers and students will help maintain the schools’ water system– a very important way to control the quality of the water supply in the school. The Water Steering Committee will train the staff in the daily operation and maintenance of the water filtration unit.

Other Issues:

Maintenance Revenue:

Annual recurring expenses after the initial one-year warranty period are estimated to be about $100 USD/ month, or a total 1200 USD/ per year.

A Water Steering Committee (WSC) will be set-up in the school that will be trained to handle the financial and technical management of the system. In order to support the yearly operating costs, students and teacher will each contribute 500 Riel (0.025 USD) per month after the initial one-year warranty period to cover the operation and maintenance costs of the system. The WSC will open a savings account in the local bank to manage the maintenance funds.

Question specific to the school project

Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

Isn't this proposal to create a water system like the US where even flushing water is drinking quality? Wouldn't a simpler system e.g. rapid sand filter with a slower biosand filter at the drinking water points be much more efficient and effective?
I live in an affluent community in Bangalore living of ground water 50m and we don't treat ...

Isn't this proposal to create a water system like the US where even flushing water is drinking quality? Wouldn't a simpler system e.g. rapid sand filter with a slower biosand filter at the drinking water points be much more efficient and effective?

I live in an affluent community in Bangalore living of ground water 50m and we don't treat any of the water except point-of-use household filters. Its fine for bathing and all household use except drinking.

The reason for this is that from a system level allocation of resources, where should we put our resources and energy and in what way? As can be seen by the applications which are across so many diverse geographies, cultures, technologies, and costs, we need to ask some tough questions to ensure that we make progress against the global water crisis as well as at a local level.